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. 2011 Aug 1;119(8):a348–a353. doi: 10.1289/ehp.119-a348

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Although shale gas offers many benefits as a fuel and a source of jobs and revenue, the process of extracting it from the ground has drawbacks for surrounding communities. — (Clockwise from top left) A natural gas well pad sited near Rifle, Colorado; a worker at a fracking site in Rulison, Colorado; a glass of water taken from a residential drinking water well in Dimock, Pennsylvania, after fracking began nearby; a Dimock backyard overlooking a natural gas well.

© AP Photo/David Zalubowski, © Tim Shaffer/Reuters.